A. Kharlampiev Memorial World Cup Stage - First Day

The World Cup Stage which now being held in Moscow (Russia) is dedicated to the memory of Anatoly Arkadievich Kharlampiev - one of the founders of SAMBO. The words of respect and admiration were dedicated to him in the welcome speeches of modern SAMBO leaders at the World Cup Opening Ceremony. At the Ceremony veterans of sport were awarded the memorable gifts. That was a token of recognition of their merits and contribution to the development of SAMBO. Certificates for purchase of sports uniform were given to SAMBO clubs for children with disabilities of vision and hearing. About 200 sportsmen from 26 countries of the world are taking part in this tournament. The Moscow World Cup Stage will help determine the champions and prize winners in 22 weight categories (4 of which are combat SAMBO categories and the other 18 are for the representatives of sporting SAMBO with 9 weight categories for both men and women). In the weight category "up to 52 kg" two Russians met: Vasily Karaulov and Albert Mongush. As the result of intense struggle, a one-point side turnover brought victory to Vasily Karaulov, the winner of Youth World Championship 2011 in Riga. In the weight category "up to 62 kg", Russian sportsman Beslan Murdanov defeated the sambist from Kirgizia Arthur Te with a margin of 1 point. World Champion 2011 Ali Kurzhev (Russia) overpowered in the final bout his compatriot - gold medal winner of the national Championship 2012 Alexandr Shaburov - in the weight category "up to 74 kg". Technically perfect inside grip from the opposite position valued at 2 points brought him victory and the gold medal of the prestigious World Cup. Over-the-back throw with sleeve clinch brought 1 point and the gold medal to twice World champion Viktor Osipenko in the 90 kg weight category who overpowered his Russian team colleague Andrey Gusarov in the most important bout of the day. In the most prestigious weight category - 100 kg - the first gold medal for his team won the Belorussian sambist Alexandr Vakkhovyak. In the women's part of this first day, Russian sambists had no equal. They won 5 gold medals (the maximum possible number). In the lightest weight category (48 kg) was repeated the Russian final of the last year's World Cup: Yelena Bondareva vs. Gayane Arutyunyan. Just like last year, Yelena celebrated victory. An over-the-back throw from the knees, a hip throw and an excellent front trip from the knees with the following retention brought her victory with 11 points margin and the gold medal of the World Cup. In the 56 kg weight category, there was no one like Diana Alieva (Russia) who defeated her compatriot Nadezhda Zaitseva. Three-time world Champion Olga Usoltseva (64 kg) who had won the silver medal at World Cup 2011 in Lithuania forced to yield to Angela Paim-Krasovskaya (Belarus) looked very confident in Moscow. In the final bout, she used her perfect tactics and defeated Irina Gromova with the help of a spectacular and amplitude throw (front trip from the knees valued at 4 points) that actually brought her the victory and the gold medal of this World Cup stage. The bout in the 72 kg weight category was also hot and exciting. Here 2 Russians met: Marina Kormiltseva, World Champion 2011 in the weight category "up to 68 kg" who shifted to a heavier weight category at this World Cup, and seven-time World Champion Svetlana Galyant. Svetlana is more experienced, 15 years older, and has 6 World Champion titles more than her young opponent. In this keen struggle between youth and experience, youth had the victory. Marina Kormiltseva won the bout with a minimum margin which brought her the gold medal of this tournament. In the heaviest women's weight category, the 11-time World Champion Irina Rodina met in the main fight of the day with Nina Kutro-Kelly (USA) who won a bronze medal for her team at the World Cup in Lithuania. For her team, it was the first medal after ten years of medal-less performance of USA national teams at World Championships. The final bout was really hard. And as the result, the famous Russian champion won the victory with a margin of 3 points which Irina got with the help of her favorite technique: front trip with arm clinch under the shoulder. The American had to content herself with the silver medal which must be with a golden tint for her as it was clearly a great success for American SAMBO team to win the 2nd place at such a prestigious tournament and a tangible result of the hard work of this country's National SAMBO Federation. Tomorrow, sports SAMBO men (weight categories 57, 68, 82 and 100 kg) and women (weight categories 52, 60, 68 and 80 kg) as well as combat athletes will fight for the medals on the mats of "Druzhba" Sports Hall.